FAA under fire for failures leading up to Boeing 737 MAX crashes

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers said the federal agency in charge of aircraft safety didn’t do enough to protect passengers before the two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people.

A Senate committee had harsh words for the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Wednesday.

“The FAA knew that the 737 MAX was not safe and still let it fly,” said. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) said. “The FAA knew and it gambled with thousands of lives.”

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Members from both parties accused the FAA of refusing to provide documents and emails requested by Senators trying to figure out what went wrong.

“The culture of secrecy at the FAA has only been aggravated under your tenure,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut).

"The response from employees at the FAA has been reluctance," said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi).

FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson defended the agency and outlined the changes it’s made since the crashes.

He said the FAA will conduct a certification flight test and pilot training assessment for the Boeing 737 MAX.

“I will not sign off on this aircraft until all FAA technical reviews are complete,” Dickson said. “I also intend to pilot the aircraft myself before the FAA makes any grounding decision.”

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The father of a crash victim called for greater accountability.

“They gambled. We lost,” said Michael Stumo, whose daughter Samya died in the Ethiopian Airlines crash. “The first crash should not have happened. The second crash is inexcusable... I expect better so do the ET 302 families and the flying public.”

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